by Locklyn Marx
Katie had forgotten a suitcase on the way out, and because of her c-section, she needed more clothes than she’d originally anticipated.
“Why can’t I do it?” Jaxon asked. “I’m staying there, for God’s sake.”
“Because I don’t trust you,” Katie said simply. She looked at Anna. “You don’t mind, do you?”
Of course Anna didn’t mind. But since Jaxon had driven her to the hospital, he needed to drive her back to Katie’s house.
When they got there, Jaxon put the key in the lock of the front door, and Anna couldn’t help but think about the last time she’d been here — yesterday, at the shower, when Jaxon had kissed her for the first time. Had that been only yesterday? God, it seemed like forever ago.
“This must be the bag they were talking about,” Anna said, pointing at the hunter green suitcase that was sitting in the front hallway.
“How could they have forgotten it when it was sitting right there?” Jaxon shook his head.
“They had other things on their minds,” Anna said.
Now that Katie and the baby were fine, Anna had nothing to distract her from Jaxon being right here, so close to her in this small hallway. She backed as far away from him as she could, hoping that putting some distance between them would calm her beating heart.
“Really?” Jaxon gave her his patented smile. “That makes sense. I can see how easy it might be to have other things on your mind.” He took a step toward Anna. The glint in his eye let her know exactly what he was referring to when he said “other things.”
Anna took a step back, but the entranceway was small, and there was nowhere to go. She found herself with her back against the wall, literally, and Jaxon in front of her, moving in for the kill.
He pressed up against her body in one smooth movement, his lips landing on her neck, his breath teasing her skin. Pleasure flowed through her, sliding like hot lava from her neck all the way down to her toes.
“Jaxon,” she said. “Please, I don’t think we should – ”
“Don’t think we should what, Princess?” he asked. “Do this?” His lips moved from her neck to her mouth, and she turned her head away from him, the last stand of resistance before what she knew would be certain surrender.
He slid his hands up her body, his fingertips lightly grazing her arms before moving excruciatingly slowly to her face. He took her chin gently, turning her face until she was forced to look at him.
Want and desire burned in his eyes, and Anna averted her gaze, unable to look at him.
“Look at me,” Jaxon demanded. “Anna, look at me.”
She forced herself to look. Lust flamed between them, threatening to take over.
She could see how bad Jaxon wanted her, and it only served to turn her on more.
“Please,” she begged. “Please, I don’t – ”
But she never finished her thought.
The kiss enveloped her, overtaking her whole body. His mouth was on hers for what seemed like hours, strong at first, then gentle, pulling back, speeding up, driving her crazy.
His hands started on her face, cradling her chin gently as he kissed her, then moving down her body as the kiss intensified. He stroked her shoulders, then grabbed her hips, holding her tight against him.
He played with the bottom of her skirt, pulling it up to stroke her bare thighs, then pushing it down again as he moved back up her body, his hands lingering over the sides of her breasts. It was the most exquisite torture she’d ever known. “Jaxon,” she breathed.
“Jaxon, please…”
“Please, what, Princess?”
She could tell he was enjoying this, enjoying teasing her, enjoying driving her out of her mind.
And then, just like that, he decided to stop teasing.
He grabbed both of her hands, pushed them over her head and back against the wall. Sliding his fingertips back down her body, he gripped the bottom of her tank top and pulled it over her head, discarding it on the floor.
The air hit Anna’s bare skin, and she shivered. Jaxon pulled her close, his body warming hers. She ran her hands over his chest, feeling the hardness of his muscles, the strength of his shoulders. He pulled his own shirt off, and it joined hers on the floor.
She took him in, wondering how she could be with a man this beautiful. His body was lean and hard, the kind of body that could have been in a Calvin Klein ad. She felt small and vulnerable when he pulled her close and kissed her again.
“Oh, Anna,” Jaxon said, moving back and taking her in.
She swallowed hard, then moved her arms up to cover herself. But he took her arms and put them down at her sides. For one long, delicious moment, he looked at her, naked from the waist up.
“You’re so beautiful,” he said. There was awe in his voice, and Anna didn’t have a chance to figure out if she believed him before his mouth was back on hers.
His kisses had gone to another level now, as if seeing her body had kicked his desire into another level of intensity.
His hands snaked around her waist, pushing her body against his, crushing her breasts against his chest. Then he let her go, his fingers finding her nipples. He teased the tightened nubs until Anna felt like she might lose her mind.
He pulled her skirt up, forcefully, and Anna gasped. His fingers wasted no time moving the thin slip of material between her legs over to the side, and he brushed against her clit, his fingers moving to the rhythm of their kiss.
“Oh, God,” Anna moaned. “Jaxon, please, don’t stop.”
Bliss pulsed through her body as he continued to rub her, moving faster and faster until Anna knew she was going to orgasm. “Please,” she gasped again. But something in her tone must have let him know she was close, because just like that, he took his hand away.
She bit back the protest that was on her lips, knowing if she begged, he would just prolong the torture even more.
He took her hand and led her into the downstairs guestroom, then pushed her down on the bed roughly. Her legs hung off the side, and he kneeled down and looked up at her.
“I’ll bet you taste delicious,” he said huskily.
Anna bit her lip, not trusting herself to speak. His hands grabbed her panties and slid them down her legs. He parted her thighs, and then his mouth was on her, his tongue tracing slow circles around her clit.
Anna moaned and arched her back, giving herself to him.
He took her right to the brink, and then he was pulling back, standing up. He slid her skirt down, tugging it over her hips, over her knees, then tossing it away, leaving her completely naked on the bed.
He unbuttoned his pants and dropped them to the floor, and his boxers came next.
A line of hair trailed from his belly button down to his hard cock.
Jaxon’s body lay down on top of hers, cocooning her, making Anna feel safe and wanted. He kissed her lips softly, then moved a strand of hair off her forehead. She wanted him inside of her so bad she ached. It was more than physical – it was a need that had been building up inside of her for all these years, an urge that had been much stronger than she’d dared to let herself believe.
“Is this okay?” Jaxon whispered. He breath was accelerated, and she watched him, looked into his eyes and saw the desire that pulsed there. But there was something else there, too – sadness?
“Yes,” Anna breathed. “Yes, it’s okay.”
He entered her slowly, taking his time, prolonging that exquisite moment when the two of them became one. She moaned as he began to move inside her, peppering kisses on her forehead before taking her mouth. The kiss grew deeper, his tongue stroking hers with more intensity as he made love to her.
He moved faster and faster, until finally, Anna couldn’t take it anymore. She came, the orgasm washing over her in a tidal wave of pleasure, causing her to cry out Jaxon’s name. At almost the same time, she felt him tense on top of her, felt him filling her.
Their bodies stayed pressed together for a long moment before he rolled over,
pulling her into his arms. Anna put her head on his chest, listening to the beat of his heart, neither of them saying anything. Her body was completely relaxed, her mind completely content. He stroked her back softly while she lie there, cradled in his arms.
And then, finally, she fell asleep.
***
Jaxon looked down at Anna. Her long blonde hair curled softly on her shoulders, her rosebud lips parted slightly as she slept on his chest. He couldn’t stop looking at her, couldn’t believe that after all this time, she had finally been his. In that moment, he knew he was never going to let her go again. But did she feel the same way?
A vibrating noise came from the floor of the guest room. His phone, left in the pocket of his pants. It was probably Katie, wondering where the hell they were.
He reached for the phone, already formulating excuses about what was taking them so long. Traffic. Trouble finding the things they were looking for. Stopping to grab a bite to eat.
But it wasn’t Katie. It was Donovan Cuban.
Jaxon hesitated, not knowing if he should answer. Then again, he’d blown off both calls from Cuban last night. He slid out of bed and into the hallway, shutting the door softly behind him so that he wouldn’t wake Anna.
“Jaxon Hale,” he said into the phone, hoping he sounded like he was a busy man who didn’t have too much time to talk.
“Jaxon!” Cuban roared. Cuban was always roaring. Jaxon could picture him at his desk, a big heavy oak thing on one of the top floors of a shiny silver building in downtown L.A.
Jaxon had been in there once, when he’d first started out in the business. Back then, Jaxon had been an assistant to one of the big developers in L.A., a man named Gordon Janvers. Gordon had taken a meeting with Cuban, and had brought Jaxon along so he could “see what goes on at one of these things.”
Of course the real reason Jaxon had been invited was because Gordon wanted to seem important, like the kind of man who had to travel with an entourage, albeit an entourage of one.
The meeting had been about a piece of land that had just gone on sale in one of the L.A. suburbs – at the time it had been a broken down row of abandoned businesses.
The strip mall had fallen into disrepair, and the owner, a bullheaded man named Jonas Miller, had finally fallen into foreclosure on the property. It was set to go to auction in the next couple of days, and Jaxon’s boss Gordon wanted it.
But so did Donovan Cuban.
The meeting was supposed to be about who should get the property, but in the end, Gordon had slunk out of there, promising not to bid on it.
Jaxon had been baffled – why had Gordon given up? He had the money to pay for the property, and if the building was torn down and a new row of commercial properties had gone up, it would have been a great investment opportunity. The neighborhood in which it was located was changing, with young professional families moving in.
When Jaxon had asked his boss why he had agreed not to bid on the property, Gordon had clapped him on the shoulder and told him it was better to take a loss once in a while in order to get ahead long-term.
At first Jaxon hadn’t understood. And then he got it. Gordon was afraid. He was afraid that if he pissed Cuban off now, Cuban would come after him harder on the next deal. It was then, in that moment, in the elevator of Donovan Cuban’s building that Jaxon made a vow. He would start his own company, and he would do things his own way. And he would never be afraid of people like Donovan Cuban.
As soon as they’d walked out onto the street, Jaxon had shook Gordon’s hand, thanked him for his mentorship, and then walked away. He’d set up the cheapest website he could, using the money he’d saved from the meager wages he’d made during his time with Gordon, and some savings he’d had from working construction over college vacations.
It had been slow going at first, but Jaxon was a hard worker, his instincts were sharp, and he knew enough about construction and contracting to be able to make smart investments. After six months, he’d made enough on his first flip, a ranch style house in the valley, to afford an office. Things had continued to build from there, until Jaxon had become a multi-millionaire.
“Hello?” Cuban roared into the phone again now. Cuban had a big voice, but he was actually a tiny man who favored pinstriped suits. Jaxon didn’t like bullies. But he had to admit his curiosity was peeked.
“Yes?” Jaxon asked, making sure to keep his voice even, like he had no idea why Cuban would be repeating his greeting, or who Donovan Cuban even was.
“Donovan Cuban,” the man on the other end yelled. “Jaxon Hale, how the hell are you?”
“I’m great,” Jaxon said. “What can I do for you?”
And then, suddenly, before Cuban even said anything, Jaxon knew exactly what this was about.
There was a new piece of land that had just gone on sale, in an up-and-coming neighborhood. It wasn’t a commercial property – the land was zoned for residential, and the right developer would be able to make a bundle and help the neighborhood property vales at the same time if they played their cards right. It was almost an identical situation to the one Gordon had been in all those years ago.
Except now the stakes were higher. When Gordon had given up that land, it had been a costly mistake — but there were more properties coming on the market every day.
Business was booming.
Now, you had to be more careful. The market had crashed. There were still opportunities for growth if you were savvy enough, but they were fewer and farther between. This new land was as close to a sure thing as you could get.
Jaxon wanted it.
And, he realized now, so did Cuban.
“Just thought it might be time for the two of us to sit down and have a meeting,”
Cuban said jovially. “We’ve both been in the same line of work for what, three years now?” It was a thinly disguised jibe. Jaxon had been working in real estate development for ten years now, had been a player for the last eight. But Cuban was making it seem as if Jaxon hadn’t been on anyone’s radar.
“Sure,” Jaxon said. “I’m in the middle of something right now, but how’s next week?”
“Next week’s not good,” Cuban said. “I was hoping we could get together on Tuesday.”
It was a clear indication he wanted to talk about the property Jaxon was thinking of. The auction was going to be on Friday morning. Which meant Cuban wanted to try and intimidate Jaxon before then.
Jaxon thought about telling Cuban to go screw, and just showing up at the auction on Friday and taking his chances. But he wanted to feel Cuban out, get a sense of how much money he was willing to spend, how much this property really meant to him. Of course, taking the meeting would mean he’d have to fly out tomorrow. But he could always come back afterwards, stay for another week or so and help Katie and Adam with the baby.
“Sure,” Jaxon said nonchalantly. “How’s eleven?”
“That sounds great, Jaxon,” Cuban roared. “See you then.”
Jaxon clicked off, then turned back toward the bedroom and opened the door slowly. Anna was still sleeping, her breathing soft and even, her face peaceful-looking against the crisp white pillowcase.
Jaxon set to work getting the things together that Katie had requested. He shot off a quick note to Anna, letting her know that he was returning to the hospital, that he hadn’t wanted to wake her, but that he would be back soon.
Then he kissed her on the forehead and left.
Chapter Five
Anna woke to find the room dark, with just a sliver of sunlight streaming through the window. She startled, forgetting where she was for a moment. Then it all came rushing back to her. Katie. The hospital. Jaxon.
Jaxon. She squeezed her eyes tight, regret flowing through her. How could she have let that happen? She had vowed to herself that no matter what, she wouldn’t fall for him again.
Where was Jaxon, anyway? She rolled over and grabbed for her cell phone.
There was a note on the nightstand, and she p
icked it up.
Anna,
Went to the hospital to drop off the things Katie wanted. Didn’t want to wake you.
Be back soon,
J
Yeah, right. She didn’t believe for a second that he would be back soon. She sighed and laid back in bed, trying to shake the groggy feeling that had settled behind her eyelids. She would rest for a few more moments, and then she would get up and go home. First, though, she should call Katie.
She reached again for her phone, but before she could get to it, the door to the bedroom opened.
Jaxon stood there, his hands in his pockets, a sheepish look on his face.
“You’re awake,” he said.
“You came back,” she blurted before she could stop herself. Relief flowed through her, astonishing her with its intensity. She hadn’t realized how much she’d wanted him to come back, how much she’d wanted to make sure she saw him again.
“I told you I would be right back,” he said. “Didn’t you get my note?”
“No,” she lied.
“Are you still tired?” He was moving back to the bed, kicking his shoes off. “I’m exhausted.”
“Yes,” she admitted. “I’m still tired.”
“Good.”
His shirt came off next, and Anna couldn’t help but stare. Yes, she’d just made love to him, and that had been delicious, but she hadn’t had the chance to really look at him, to take in his body the way she was now. Broad shoulders gave way to a strong chest gave way to a flat stomach gave way to a line of hair that slid down his muscular torso and disappeared into his pants. She shivered.
Jaxon moved closer, unbuckling his pants and giving her his trademark grin.
Suddenly, she was very aware that she was still completely naked, with only a thin sheet and a flimsy blanket covering her.
His boxers came next, and then he slid into bed next to her, his naked body instantly warming hers.
“Come here,” he whispered. Anna was powerless to resist, and he wrapped his arms around her, holding her close against his chest.
And as Anna drifted off to sleep, she’d never felt so protected in her whole life.